Founders Nemesis

There is absolutely nothing that i can really say that describes this beer better then HOLY @#$!@$%!!!!!!????? It blew my mind as well as the minds of the four other experienced beer drinkers that I was with. We were all blown away by the taste. The maple flavor almost made me want to start singing "Oh Canada." That was, until I remembered that Sidney Crosby goal for Canada put the dagger in USA's heart in the gold medal game of the Olympics. Being a Pittsburgh Penguins fan (of which Crosby is the captain), I don't know which was more confusing the game or the beer.

OK, sorry, back to the beer:


The beer was a yellow, orangey color and very translucent. There was a nice two-finger head and decent lace. (Lace is the head that sticks to the sides of the glass after a few sips or the pour.)

The smell was mostly of sugar and bourbon; not surprising from a wheat beer made from maple and aged in bourbon barrels.

The taste... wow! The taste was sweet and very alcoholic, like a straight shot of Kentucky bourbon. Its strong initial flavor quickly begins to blend with a very strong taste of maple syrup that almost seems to roll around the alcohol flavor and consume it, leaving a smooth (but strong and sweet) finish. The combo of maple and alcohol almost creates a wheaty butterscotch flavor that I'm not a huge fan of.


- Nathan

QUICK TASTE

Founders Nemesis
Grand Rapids, MI


ABV% 12.0


Wheatwine

Appearance: Cloudy yellowish brown


Aromatics: Sweet, Bourbon


Taste: Overly Sweet, Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Butter Scotch

Notes: Much too sweet for me but worth the taste and time to locate. One of the most unique and strongest flavored beers I have ever tasted.

Even though the actual flavor of the beer was not my favorite I still have to give this beer a fairly high score based on uniqueness and quality. 85

America and The UK together again...

... OK, at least working together.

Stone (famous for Arrogant Bastard and other big character beers) teamed up with Brew Dog (famous for the former world's strongest beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin) to create a Belgian Style Double IPA.
If you take everything you know about Stone and everything you expect from a Belgian style black beer you'll end up with Bashah.

When I poured it I initially noticed the dark, dark brown color, and the lighter brown head.

The aroma of the beer is about what I expected from the combination of the dark look and from a Belgian. Its dominated by the fruity sweet smells of a belgian dark, but with definite smokey undertones.

The taste is like no other beer I've ever had... it was good, and I enjoyed it, but I had to wait for it to warm up for a bit before I could dissect the flavors. It has a rich fruit and light chocolate flavors, and smokey undertones that I smelled that are caused by the roasted malt. This very light smokey flavor that is not overpowering or dominating at all and are very pleasant. The combination is very nice and well balanced.

When two of the most progressive and dedicated breweries in the world combine their powers anything could happen. In this case they not only hit the target but they blew it up like a Nuclear Penguin, or a stone hitting Goliath... or something like that... I'd have to but this beer up pretty high on my list of all time favorite beers.



- Nathan

QUICK TASTE

Stone & Brew Dog Bashah
Scotland/California


ABV% 8.6


Belgian Style Double IPA

Appearance: Dark brown, almost black; Lighter brown head


Aromatics: Sweet fruit and smoke


Taste: Light hops, dominating fruity and smokey malt taste

Notes: A Scotland-brewed, combined effort between Stone and Brew Dog is exactly what you'd expect from great breweries like these two. Worth hunting down and paying a little extra for. It also has a pretty sweet label...

One of the top beers on my list I gave this beer a 93.

Mom... Theres a 400 Pound Monkey under my bed...

With a name like "400 Pound Monkey" I thought I might be facing a badass crazy hoppy Imperial IPA. Well, I should have known better due to it being billed as an English IPA, but I tend to be a slow learner, especially when my mind is allowed to stray towards the arena of huge, lineman-sized monkeys. 

Either way, this Monkey was not the best beer that I've ever had, but certainly a very tasty and sessionable (yeah, using a buzzword, so shoot me) English IPA that'll sneak up on you with its deceptively high ABV (almost 7%). 

It poured a light golden yellow with a nice, small head and had a very understated aroma. Herbaly(?) hops were definitely the first aroma I got, with a little bit of citrus mixed in. 

The taste followed in just the same manner, with a forefront of subtle pine notes and some lemony citrus bite afterwards. As I usually find with IPAs, the flavors are enhanced as the beer warms and the Monkey was no exception. The flavor became better and better with every sip, but no one flavor ever took over the show. 

All in all, a very well balanced B+ grade English IPA. If you want to enjoy an IPA but can't handle something like a Double Dry-hopped Arrogant Bastard, this one is a great starter with which to begin understanding the nuances of the style. And trust me, I should know... I'm a total wuss when it comes to extremely hoppy beers... and I totally liked the Monkey.

- Andrew


QUICK TASTE

Left Hand Brewing Company 400 Pound Monkey 

Longmont, CO

ABV 6.70%

English IPA

Appearance: Light golden yellow with a quickly diminishing 1-2 finger head

Aromatics: Quite subtle, with herbal smelling hops

Taste: Fairly thick mouthfeel for an IPA. Lower bitterness, as would be expected from the English style, yet still maintains a nice dry, citrusy finish. A few different flavors coming out, from pine to an almost lemon-honey flavor. Well balanced though, so no one flavor dominated.

Notes: A great "beginner" IPA due to its non-overwhelming hoppiness and nice bright flavor. A tasty, above average representation of an English IPA. 86/100.

Midwest IPAs: Hops From The Heartland

Zeno's has recently had Founders Centennial IPA, Darkhorse Crooked Tree IPA, and Bell's Two Hearted Ale (also an IPA) on tap. All three of these are from Michigan and all three are high quality India Pale Ales. But which of these three is the best? ... well that's up to you... I'd had the Centennial and the Two Hearted before, but my only experince with Darkhorse was their Perkulator Coffee Dobblebock. To be honest, I'm not a coffee fan, and I didn't really enjoy the beer, so i really had no idea what else to expect from the brewery. However, when I ordered a pint after a shift at Zeno's and one of the bartenders also gave me a taste of the Bells Two Hearted to compare it to, it impressed me greatly. This comparison gave me the idea for this post. I figured why not throw in the third brewery, Founders, and try all three.
I have to admit, it took me three or four attempts to detect the subtle difference between the Crooked Tree and the Centennial. They both share a very similar color, aroma, and taste. Their tastes are flowery and citrus notes are both the bulk of the flavor and the aroma. The largest difference here is the finish, with the Crooked Tree having a slightly more pine flavor to the finish. Bell's Two Hearted is probably the boldest of the three flavors with the strong grapefruit flavor. All three of the beers have great flavors that linger a while, allowing the smooth, yet dry, finish to become more present.


As far as appearance, from dark to light: the Centennial is the more typical Amber colored AIPA, followed by the more orange colored Crooked Tree, with and the Bells coming in as the lightest.


The Bells is certainly the most balanced and strongest flavor of the group, with the other two not far behind. The Centennial was the smoothest, with the Crooked Tree somewhere in the middle.


So - long story short... the decision for these beers comes down to what flavor notes you want to experience... For me, I typically like the citrusy notes and the mouth feel of the hops, but in this case the transition from the citrus flavors to the pine in the Crooked Tree was just too nice for me to vote against. So, personally, I'd have to give it to the Crooked Tree in this one.


- Nathan